


a house of splinters and glass (and everything that makes me love you)

by gaymothman



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Raven's Roost, Rebellion-Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 13:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaymothman/pseuds/gaymothman
Summary: Magnus breaks. Julia feels vastly unqualified to pick up the pieces.They make it work, somehow.





	a house of splinters and glass (and everything that makes me love you)

**Author's Note:**

> i've been writing taz fic for almost a year now but haven't posted anything until now. i've been told that once you're able to put something out it gets easier, so hopefully this won't be my last!
> 
> also i'm a ambience goblin who can't write anything without mood music, so for the Full Experience try listening to Fake Empire by the National or Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl by Broken Social Scene as you read.

Julia finds him in the workshop.

It’s been an odd fall in Raven’s Roost and an especially odd night. Neither hot nor cold, the temperature this time of year is so even that it causes something uneasy to settle in Julia’s bones. Like she's supposed feel something, but doesn’t.

She rubs her bared arms, eyes still adjusting to the light. 

It’s so quiet when she sees him, a few candles casting a glow to one side of his body. The other half is lost to the inky darkness that coats much of the room.

Julia doesn’t say a word. She knows Magnus realizes she's there but for a short moment, they both pretend he doesn't. She gets to see him take a step, one hand braced against the back of a chair and the other clenched in pain. A moment later, he’s gritting his teeth and looking like he's about to collapse onto the ground and she's already running over to catch him before he can fall. She can't hold up his bulk for long, but she does her best to guide them both down painlessly.

“Idiot,” She snaps, without much bite. “What is this? What are you trying to do?”

“Walk,” Magnus snaps back and she knows he does mean it. They’re both sprawled on the ground, and he holds his injured leg up to keep the pressure off of it. Julia grabs it, pulls it down to rest on her lap and earns herself a scowl for it. “I was trying to _walk_.”

“You mean you were trying to break your leg again?” Julia wishes absently for Jamie, the medic who makes his rounds almost every day, to be here right now, telling Magnus to keep pressure off of his injury. Jamie should be the one cradling Magnus’s leg because his hands wouldn’t be shaking the way Julia’s are.

She feels a strong urge to leave this room. Go back to bed, fall asleep, forget this ever happened. She thinks that she’d rather face down Kalen himself than look Magnus in the eye right now, like this. Her hands move over his bandaged leg, smoothing down the brown-tinged gauze. If it’s from the dust kicked up around the city or just a lack of attention, she isn’t sure.

She has a feeling that Magnus just doesn't care.

It had been a tough battle. Not even much more than a skirmish, at first. Twelve people on their side, a few more of the guards. Eira, one of Magnus’s closest friends and a skilled diplomat, managed to diffuse the situation. But a guard had made some remark about her family and Magnus had turned back around and struck out, and it had only escalated from there.

Magnus came close to losing his leg.

Three people ended up dead.

Eira was one of them.

“I’m fine,” Magnus glares at her but it’s weak. In the dark, his eyes look almost black, like smears of ink that make him seem so much younger than he actually is. “I’m fine, alright? So you can go back to the rest of them. Make plans. Lead the rebellion. Change the world. I won’t weigh you down, this time.”

Jamie had told him to stay out of danger until it healed. And it _is_ healing.

But he’s different, now. He’s reluctant to be out of the shop for more than errands. Leaves the room whenever Kalen comes up in conversation. Barely looks Julia in the eyes.

“Shut up.” She doesn’t hesitate to reach over to punch his arm. It’s a good, solid punch, not too hard but enough to leave a bruise. Magnus shoves her back and then, suddenly, Julia doesn’t want to be anywhere else but here. She feels distantly glad that Jamie isn't around this late at night.

“You say that like I’d do any of it without you.” Julia retorts. As soon as the words are out, she wants to grab them back, mid-air. She didn’t mean for them to sound so wounded.

Magnus looks down at her from behind his unkempt hair. As the long ends brush the tip of his nose, Julia feels a strong urge to smooth it away for him. She waits too long though, and he tucks it behind his ear, still staring at her like he’s expecting her to up and leave.

“That’s a shitty joke.” He finally scoffs and drops his head and Julia doesn’t correct him, only watches him pick at his nails. If his voice breaks a little when he says it, she doesn't acknowledge it. She only looks down at the bandaged ankle in her lap. With her big toe, she nudges at one of his worn shoes, discarded beneath the work table.

Julia wonders if Magnus resents her, a little. She wonders if _she_ resents _him_ , now that she thinks about it.

But when he shifts closer, shaky and smelling of salt, Julia doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him. She thinks that this must be what the end of the world is like, this swollen ache in her chest. Her lips press against Magnus's hair as he finally exhales against the side of her neck in a dry, shuddering sob.

Or maybe, just maybe it’s the beginning of something else.


End file.
